Kalibo Ati-Atihan festival listed among world’s Top 300 festivals

Kalibo Santo Niño Ati-Atihan festival has been named one of the 300 best festivals in the world for 2017 by two global digital festival discovery communities, the F300 and EverFest.

F300 is a San Francisco based company regarded as the ultimate authority on the world’s music and culture festivals. Itevolved into the online destination uniting the global community of attendees, artists and festival producers through thought-leading editorial and awe-inspiring video and photography.

The 300 best festivals in the list of 15,000 festivals from over 70 countries around the world were voted in by the international festival community.

F300 list described the Santo Nino Ati-Atihan event as nine days of constant movement, drumming and feasting – egged on by chants of ‘Hala Bira, Puera Pasma!” – begging you to ‘let go’’.

The street dancing called sadsad is such a spectacle of downright exuberance that it seems a more apropos name would be happyhappy. In the evening, the infamous masquerade ball romps through the night, while thousands of people show up for the closing event, an atmospheric torchlight procession honoring the Santo Niño.

One of the reveler’s review noted that “Filipinos are known for their gracious hospitality worldwide, but this festival (Ati-Atihan) allows us a glimpse of another facet of these devout and thoughtful people: their wild and playful side.”

“This immersive celebration will have you dancing, drinking, and connecting with the locals in a way that you’ll feel as if you’ve found a new family.”

Everfest marketing associate Maddie Rish wrote the festival organizer Kalibo Santo Niño Ati-Atihan Foundation, Incorporated (Kasafi) on March 28, 2017 of the latest recognition of the “Mother of All Philippine Festivals.”

“We at Fest300/Everfest are excited to announce the 2017 List of the World’s 300 Best Festivals! We’re honored to include Kalibo Santo Niño Ati-Atihan and appreciate all of your support so far,” Rish said.

Everfest is a global festival discovery and inspiration website that comprehensively guides the festival-creators and attendees of the local art fests and internationally renowned music festivals.

Everfest said, “the creativity and color of the Ati-Atihan traditional costumes are matched only by Brazil’s Carnival and Papua New Guinea’s Mt Hagen Cultural Festival.”

In the list, Australia and Oceania and Africa and the Middle East had 16 best festivals each, Asia had 40 festivals, Caribbean and Central America (8), South America (11), North America (105) and Europe with 104 festivals.

The Ati-Atihan in Kalibo and the Dinagyang Festival are the only Philippine Festivals on the comprehensive list.

Boracay Informer started as a weekly newspaper established by Hands, Minds, and Visions Inc. in 2012. For several years, it served as the island’s weekly news source for tourism, business and the community.

Boracay Informer is now an online hub for tourism information promoting Boracay Island. We offer business listing for different categories like Hotels, Food, Nightlife, etc. Providing the answer to the questions “Where to find, Where to go and What to do in Boracay”.